Jiang Shuo 蒋朔 (b.1958)

Born in 1958 in Beijing, China, Jiang Shuo studied sculpture at the Central Academy of Arts and Design, now the Academy of Fine Arts, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China from 1978–1982, and was one of the few women to do so.

She studied under the sculptor Professor Zheng Ke for three years, becoming the first woman sculptor in China to complete a post-graduate degree. In 1989, she immigrated with her sculptor husband, Wu Shaoxiang and their three-year-old son. They settled in Klagenfurt, Carinthia where they established a joint studio.

Jiang became famous with her iconic "Red Guard" series begun in 2003. These anonymous, open-mouthed warriors who wear the Red Guard uniform, are cast in the ancient lost wax technique. They carry either a red flag or The Little Red Book and reflect both her personal experience as a young Red Guard during the Cultural Revolution and her observations from abroad of China's emergence into a capitalistic machine. As Jiang's work progressed her Red Guard figures, for example, Cloud Rider - Terracotta Red (2008), and Run 2 (2006), began posing alongside material items that replaced The Little Red Book. They now sang karaoke, drank Coca-Cola, ate McDonald's, rode atop flashy automobiles – all reflective of the lifestyles of rich businessmen pursuing a life filled with commercial luxury.

Jiang has widely exhibited her sculptures around the world, including Austria, Indonesia, Singapore, and Switzerland. Her works are also regularly sold through galleries, and at auctions in Beijing, Hong Kong, and New York. Many of her works can be seen in major private and museum collections as well.